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Published: Monday June 1, 2009 MYT 10:54:00 AM

Football: Europa League to be played with 5 match officials

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP): Europa League matches next season will be played with five officials as part of a trial involving FIFA and UEFA.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Sunday that European football's governing body had agreed to undertake the experiment during the tournament formerly known as the UEFA Cup.

The system involves an extra official standing on the side of each goal, assisting the referee and two touchline assistants make decisions by communicating through headsets.

FIFA and its rule-making arm, the International Football Association Board, ordered the system tested last year as an alternative to using video replay. UEFA was asked to use the system at under-19 European Championship qualifying matches in Slovenia, Hungary and Cyprus, and it was hailed a great success.

UEFA said the extra pair of eyes monitoring play in each area had a preventive effect as well as promoting better decisions on suspected fouls. Players were less prone to shirt-pulling at corners and free kicks, diving in the area and dissent, it reported.

UEFA president Michel Platini is credited with having the original idea. Platini opposes using technology to decide goal-line decisions and proposed the five-official experiment to retain a human element in decision-making.

The Europa League is the continent's second-tier club competition behind the Champions League. More than 150 clubs will take part in the restructured tournament, with qualifying-round matches beginning in July.

Blatter reported the experiment after a two-day meeting of FIFA's executive committee in Nassau.

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